Moldova's pro-Russian separatists extend state of emergency amid gas cutoff

11/1/2025 14:32

Moldova's Moscow-backed separatist region of Transdniestria extended its state of emergency on Friday for another month as it grapples with an energy crisis after losing access to Russian gas supplies that had propped up its economy for decades.



Russia's Gazprom suspended gas exports to Transdniestria on Jan. 1, citing unpaid Moldovan debts of $709 million. Moldova disputes that debt and says Moscow is engineering a crisis to undermine its pro-Western government.



Russia used to supply gas to Transdniestria via Ukraine and Moscow blames the crisis on Kyiv, which refused to roll over a gas transit deal that expired on Dec. 31 due to Russia's invasion. Moldova, which supports Ukraine, says Moscow could use an alternative route to continue supplies.



Residents and businesses in Transdniestria, which broke away from Moldova in the final days of Soviet rule and has long relied exclusively on Russian gas, have since faced gas cutoffs, rolling power cuts and problems with water supplies.



The separatist authorities said on the Telegram app that residents would have five hours of power cuts on Friday and that the state of emergency would be in place until at least Feb. 8.